Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
Category Archives: Cyber Security, Quantum, Hacks, Fraud Alerts, Risks, InsurTech
Man Settles With FTC Over Crowdfunding Case
WSJ Technology | Angus Loten | June 11, 2015
A Portland, Oregon man has agreed to settle with the Federal Trade Commission over charges he used “unfair or deceptive acts” to raise $122,000 from more than one thousand online backers on Kickstarter, a popular crowdfunding site.
The backers were led to believe they were funding a new board game, but the game’s maker instead spent the cash on personal items, such as paying his rent and moving expenses, the FTC said. Kickstarter itself faces no charges in the case.
The move marks the first time the agency has taken legal action to protect online users in the booming crowdfunding industry, which comprises more than 1,250 online platforms worldwide that together raised $16.2 billion last year, up 167% from 2013, according to crowdfunding research firm Massolution.
According to Massolution, entrepreneurs and startups accounted for 40% of total crowdfunding dollars in 2014, compared to just 27% in 2012 and far ahead of the online dollars raised for social causes, films and performing arts, real estate and music.
Kickstarter says broadly that it is aimed at raising funds for creative projects, from “experiences” to “art” but it prohibits projects that are raising money for charity or for financial incentives, like equity, according to its website.
Erik Chevalier in May 2012 launched a 30-day online fundraising campaign on Kickstarter, seeking to raise $35,000 to create a fantasy board game called “The Doom That Came to Atlantic City,” according to the FTC’s complaint, filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon Portland Division.
Mr. Chevalier said on his project’s Kickstarter web page that he would use the funds to cover the costs of product development, production and distribution, among other startup expenses, the FTC complaint said.
To entice contributors, Mr. Chevalier, presenting himself as the owner of The Forking Path, Co., promised them rewards, such as advanced copies of the game for pledges of $75 or more, and ornate pewter game pieces for pledges above $105.
The game’s Kickstarter page also included a video of Mr. Chevalier describing the game and players gathered around a prototype. When the fundraising campaign closed on June 6, 2012, it had raised $122,874 from 1,246, including over 1,000, or about 85% of backers, who had pledged more than $75 each, according to the complaint.
View: Kickstarter fraud: Washington files first consumer protection lawsuit involving crowdfunding
Over the next year, Mr. Chevalier posted sporadic updates on the campaign’s Kickstarter page, citing ongoing delays caused by patent infringement and manufacturing issues, among other obstacles.
But in July 2013, he abruptly canceled the project, saying in an online post that after paying to form the company, make the game pieces, move to Portland, get software licenses and hire more artists, the “money was approaching a point of no return.”
This week, FTC officials said Mr. Chevalier instead spent the money on himself and a separate, unrelated project.
Under the settlement, Mr. Chevalier is barred from raising cash on crowdfunding platforms. A $111,793 fine was suspended due to Mr. Chevalier’s inability to pay, according to the agency.
In a statement, Kickstarter spokesman David Gallagher said fundraisers on the site have “an incredible track record when it comes to following on their promises.” But those that “abuse our system and backers’ trust expose themselves to legal action,” he said.
Jay Mayfield, an FTC spokesman, said the agency had received hundreds of complaints about Mr. Chevalier’s venture, he said.
More than three-fourths of crowdfunding projects face delays, some for several years, before promised rewards are delivered to backers, according to Ethan Mollick, a professor of management at the University of Pennsylvania. Yet outright fraud is rare, he said.
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The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a cross-Canada non-profit actively engaged with both social and investment crowdfunding stakeholders across the country. NCFA Canada provides education, research, leadership, support and networking opportunities to over 1100+ members and works closely with industry, government, academia, community and eco-system partners and affiliates to create a strong and vibrant crowdfunding industry in Canada. Learn more About Us or visit ncfacanada.org.
Crowdvetting for crowdfunding? How donation sites get to the truth behind campaigns
GlobalNews | | Apr 13, 2015
TORONTO – Crowdfunding websites like Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and GoFundme minimize risk and protect their users from fraud, in part, by relying on their users to find it themselves.
Frauds can happen – a recent post by the unidentified creator of a fundraiser for a South Carolina officer accused of shooting Walter Scott alleges the fundraiser was a fraud.
This person claimed in a Facebook post that the campaign was created to raise money for their car payments.
“Well the jig is up; IndieGoGo pulled my support and returned all donations. I admit I was trolling and was looking to get enough donations to pay my car off,” the person wrote on the Michael T. Slager Support Fund Facebook page.
“I never promised a single dime to Michael Slager and was careful not to say that I was. I was, as a gesture of fair play, going to seek a way to get him some small token of the donations (I was, of course, using his name and likeness).”
The owner of the Facebook page has not responded to requests for comment.
Fraudulent campaigns do happen but they are rare. A World Bank report on crowdfunding states “no successful fraud has been perpetrated through pledge-based crowdfunding platforms.”
The report goes on to say would-be fraudsters were thwarted by “the transparency inherent in crowdfunding.” Or – the large crowd of possible investors vetted the projects themselves.
“The crowd has been very successful at uncovering suspect campaigns,” Craig Asano, the executive director of the National Crowdfunding Association of Canada said in an interview.
Websites like Kickstarter rely in part on their users to vet the campaigns. The Michael T. Slager Support Fund reportedly only received about $1,100 in large part because of the criticism it faced.
View:
- In Crowdfunding, Who is Responsible for Preventing Fraud?
- Damned if we do, damned if we don't (LinkedIn post, Daryl Hatton, CEO FundRazr)
Asano said would-be investors should educate themselves about not only the project – making sure it’s legitimate, and realistic – but also the website, making sure it uses accepted methods of payment.
But crowdfunding sites also have their own means of verifying legitimate campaigns and pulling down campaigns deemed unrealistic or illegitimate.
Indiegogo has an algorithm which seeks out fraudulent claims and employs a Trust & Safety Team which combs the site for bad projects, getting rid of anything that doesn’t meet the site’s terms or is deemed to be potentially fraudulent.
Kickstarter doesn’t transfer any money until the project is completely funded. This, according to a spokesperson, helps keep people from being tricked into funding a fake project. But Kickstarter also, in part, relies on the community to vet the project.
“If I pledge to your project on day one and you turn out to be a bad actor, our Integrity Team has 60 days to look into the project, field user input,” Justin Kazmark, a spokesperson for Kickstarter said in a statement.
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The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a cross-Canada non-profit actively engaged with both social and investment crowdfunding stakeholders across the country. NCFA Canada provides education, research, leadership, support and networking opportunities to over 950+ members and works closely with industry, government, academia, community and eco-system partners and affiliates to create a strong and vibrant crowdfunding industry in Canada. Learn more About Us or visit ncfacanada.org.
Tackling The Crowdfunding Credibility Gap: A Q&A With Dropkicker
Techvibes by Natasha Lomas | October 30, 2014
As crowdfunding has scaled up so too have some of the problems inherent with firing unconditional cash at people whose main selling point might just be their madcap idea. The big names of the category, the Kickstarters and Indiegogos, would argue that’s the beauty of crowdfunding. People donating unconditional cash to someone else’s dream, however incredible (or otherwise) it may be.
But when it comes to crowdfunding technical projects the category functions more as an extended marketing channel playing to an early adopter community of gadget enthusiasts — so there’s understandably more of an expectation of a tangible, functional device at the end of the day. Which makes separating credible hardware projects from incredible fantasies more of an imperative. A potato salad is a potato salad is a potato salad. But a personal teleportation device remains science fiction (for now).
Related: Kickstarter fraud: Washington files first consumer protection lawsuit involving crowdfunding
The risk of out-and-out scammers looking to make a fast buck from crowdfunding communities is an inevitable consequence of the rising profile of the category and its flagship hardware successes. Several of the highest funded crowdfunding projects to date have been hardware projects, including the Pebble smartwatch (which raised $10.3M) and Ouya console ($8.6M). Other multimillion dollar crowdfunding raises in recent times have included the Form1 3D printer and 3Doodler 3D printing pen, both now shipped. But there have also been problematic high profile campaigns too — such as the device we dubbed the “impossible” projection watch. Or Healbe’s miraculous calorie-counting wristband. Despite some incredible claims these fantastical gizmos still pulled in big bucks.
Crowdfunding certainly has a credibility problem, and arguably a growing one (Kickstarter used to vet projects before they could be posted but ditched that check and balance earlier this year). But attempting to plug that credibility gap, or at least sprinkle some welcome scepticism on proceedings, is a two-man blog, called Dropkicker. It’s been doing technical investigation of crowdfunding projects — acting as a sort of unofficial consumer watchdog for crowdfunding — for about a year.
I came across their work while parsing the comments on the Ampy hardware project on Kickstarter— and asked them to answer a few questions about their own initiative. “Dropkicker has exploded over the past year,” says co-founder Michael Ciuffo. “There are a lot of people out there looking for some skeptical expert advice, and we’re trying to do our best to provide it.”
Who are the founders and writers of Dropkicker? And what’s your technical background?
Jason Haensly (Occam’s Chainsaw) – I’m a software engineer with 4 years of product development experience. I currently work at i1 Biometrics, a wearable tech startup whose launch product is a mouthguard that measures the severity of head impacts. Before that, I worked with Ciuffo at Synapse.
Michael Ciuffo (ch00f) – I got my degree in electrical engineering from MIT in 2011 and have three years of experience in product development specializing in small, consumer electronics. I worked for Numark Industries (now InMusic Brands) for a year before moving to Synapse Product Development in Seattle.
When did you launch Dropkicker?
Michael: Dropkicker started in the fall of 2013. We just passed our one year anniversary.
What was the trigger for setting it up?
Michael: During the summer of 2013, I found that one of my personal electronics projects (published on a personal blog) had been copied and used to launch a Kickstarter campaign. While I was mildly upset that my name wasn’t mentioned in the campaign (despite the creators emailing me and asking for details a few months prior), I was more upset at their abysmally low funding goal. Having personally built the product in question myself, I knew that they couldn’t deliver with the funding they were requesting.
Ultimately, they changed a fundamental feature of their product in a sort of bait-and-switch cost-savings effort, and delivered a few months late. The delivered product worked well enough to appease the backers, so I’m not going to mention their name specifically. Still, watching this all unfold was a very frustrating process, and it left me wanting a platform where I could explain in full the kind of challenges facing similar projects that many backers may not know about. I ran it by Jason who had some prior writing experience, and Dropkicker was born.
Related: NCFA Canada Launches Crowdfunding Standards Initiative
How are you funded? Presumably you still have day-jobs so this is a side project?
Michael: We are funded primarily by our day-jobs, and Dropkicker remains very much a side project. We have managed to get a few hundred dollars in donations and advertising revenue (which we try to be very up-front about), but when spread over the number of hours spent on the site, we’re not even approaching minimum wage.
Do you think crowdfunding is becoming more of a target for scammers?
Jason: Sadly, yes, though I’m not sure they all involve malicious intent. With more and more of the traditional funding sources (e.g. VCs) demanding a successful crowdfunding campaign to demonstrate market viability, we’re seeing an increase in the number of projects with no resources and hopelessly unrealistic goals. Whether they’re a scam or just naive and optimistic comes down to intent, which we can’t possibly judge.
I expect this to only get worse as the pool of potential backers – and their money – continues to grow.
Related:
-
Kickstarter Backer Allegedly Scams Over One Hundred Projects
-
In Crowdfunding, Who is Responsible for Preventing Fraud?
Should crowdfunding sites be offering more checks and balances themselves, in your view?
Jason: The fundamental issue is a lack of accountability. If a project raises some money but fails to deliver, it’s the responsibility of a scattered mix of backers to organize and fight, which is both difficult (since it’s a process that will require both time and money) and often fruitless (since the project creators have likely burned through most of their resources).
Of course, more could be done to prevent questionable projects from getting funded in the first place. Currently, backers really only have access to the marketing materials provided by the project, and the comment section is typically a tangled mess – there are definitely tweaks the sites could make that would improve things a bit. More responsible tech journalism would help too.
Michael: As Jason pointed out before, a lot of the “scams” that we’ve found on crowdfunding sites are really the result of inexperienced people hopelessly overestimating their abilities (look up the Dunning Kruger effect for more detail). This is something that is really impossible to filter out. After all, one of the founding principles of the crowdfunding movement is giving power to the “little guy” who may not have the experience or accolades to get attention from traditional funding sources. So when a project raises over a million dollars for a half-baked idea, can you really blame them for being unable to follow through? They’re supposed to be allowed to fail, but when tens of thousands of people get excited about the project, every false step starts to look like intentional deceit.
One of the biggest contributing factors to this is the enormous amount of pressure from overly enthusiastic tech journalists encouraging backers to flock to these projects without first taking a critical or skeptical view. This adds a false sense of credibility to a lot of these otherwise fledgling projects that they really don’t deserve, and backers get upset when their unrealistically high expectations are broken.
As far as the actual scams go, I am happy to to report that Kickstarter at least has been stepping in lately for some of the more obvious ones. iFind, Scribble Pen, The Rock smartwatch, and Luci have all been shut down by Kickstarter after it became obvious that these projects were illegitimate. We would have rather they step in sooner than the final days of the campaigns, but at least they stopped money from changing hands.
Doing a full in-depth feasibility study for every technical project submitted to Kickstarter or Indiegogo is too large of a task for any company to reasonably offer without substantial compensation, so I recognize that these sites will probably never offer these kinds of services. That being said, there is a huge amount of brain power in the community that could be used to validate projects if they only had access to good information. Many project creators are very tight-lipped when it comes to project details either because they’re hiding something or simply because they’re busy and understaffed. Often requests for more detail or a product demonstration are ignored.
If there’s anything crowdfunding sites could do to improve project credibility, it would be to require creator responses to pertinent backer questions. In a recent case, Kickstarter gave the Scribble Pen project 24 hours to produce a video demonstrating the current functionality of their prototype. Claiming that the request was unreasonable, Scribble left the site for Tilt. Tilt ultimately shut them down when their “product demonstration” was shown to be a fake done in post production. This is exactly the way we see that it should work. If your product doesn’t work yet, be up front about it.
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The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a cross-Canada crowdfunding hub providing education, advocacy and networking opportunities in the rapidly evolving crowdfunding industry. NCFA Canada is a community-based, membership-driven entity that was formed at the grass roots level to fill a national need in the market place. Join our growing network of industry stakeholders, fundraisers and investors. Learn more About Us | Support Canadian Crowdfunding.
The Next 3 Surges That Will Change the Future of Crowdfunding
Entrepreneur | David Drake | Oct 28, 2014
The remaining months of 2014 may still hold unexpected twists for those hoping to ride the ever-increasing crowdfunding wave in the U.S., Europe and beyond. The number of crowdfunding platforms available to investors continues to grow, with more than 536 active platforms estimated last 2012. If the SEC regulators make Title III of the JOBS Act workable (as it relates to crowdfunding), thereby imposing less restrictions on non-accredited investors, the uncapped crowdfunding market will continue to swell through more innovative platforms and startups. The ruling by this regulatory body will likely come about in late 2014, but even while the public is eagerly waiting in anticipation, due diligence is still recommended.
Related: Why Frausters won't sink Equity Crowdfunding | In Crowdfunding who is responsible for Fraud?
Here are three surges that you need to watch out for in the future:
1. The inevitable future of fraud.
Last October 2013, the World Bank reported that there have been very few documented cases of crowdfunding fraud - only 4 out of the total 43,193 (0.01 percent) projects launched on Kickstarter were identified as fraudulent. Crowdfunding research website TheCrowdCafe also reported zero incidents of fraud in the six major platforms it monitors. Keep in mind, by fraud we mean creating fake campaigns or companies, which is different from the legal concept of fraud which focuses on false representation.
The potential fraudster would have to face entire wisdom of the crowd. But the number of fraud cases, suspended campaigns, and scams in the crowdfunding industry is growing this year: GoBe, iFind, Anonabox, Scribble, Areal, Holovision, and the list goes on.
Investors should continue to be vigilant in vetting an investment venue before committing. As the crowdfunding landscape continues to widen, the chances of fraud will more than likely increase.
Some fraud risk mitigation techniques were outlined by the World Bank report, commissioned by infoDev, which the public should look for in each crowdfunding portal or campaign:
2. Going solo.
So far, entrepreneurs have relied on crowdfunding venues to vet opportunities before releasing their products to the public (aka market testing).Despite the massive amounts of capital raised via these platforms, many crowdfunding proposals are never released.
Real-estate crowdfunding platform Fundrise accepts less than 5 percent of the offering applications it receives onto its platform. On the other hand, rewards-based crowdfunding platform Kickstarter receives thousands of applications each week and accepts about 75 percent of project proposals, 25 percent get rejected because of unfollowed guidelines. That 25 percent is still a lot, considering the volume of project submissions it receives each week. This is in contrast with another rewards-based crowdfunding platform Indiegogo which encourages open funding with less stringent rules.
Related: Trends for Business Startups and Future Funders | Canadian Crowdfunding Directory
Undaunted, many companies choose to launch their crowdfunding campaigns directly through their own websites, sometimes with great success. Lockitron, which makes electronic door locks that can be opened with a cell phone, was turned down by Kickstarter. It launched a crowdfunding campaign on its website and raised more than $2 million from more than 14,000 investors in 30 days.
As the crowdfunding market grows and as the large crowdfunding platforms reject hundreds of proposals, eager solo startups will likely continue to offer crowdfunding campaigns directly to the public.
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The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a cross-Canada crowdfunding hub providing education, advocacy and networking opportunities in the rapidly evolving crowdfunding industry. NCFA Canada is a community-based, membership-driven entity that was formed at the grass roots level to fill a national need in the market place. Join our growing network of industry stakeholders, fundraisers and investors. Learn more About Us | Support Canadian Crowdfunding.
NCFA Canada Launches Crowdfunding Standards Initiative
NCFA Canada | Craig Asano | October 9, 2014
TORONTO, ON Oct 9, 2014 – The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) today announced the launch of its Crowdfunding Standards initiative, which was created to build crowdfunding excellence through common standards of practice and strengthen confidence in the ecosystem.
Initially, these standards will be designed to serve as an industry benchmark for service providers, issuers and a wide variety of industry participants to use as a guideline (or checklist) when raising money online, particularly with equity crowdfunding investments.
NCFA Canada's Crowdfunding Standards Board
The Crowdfunding Standards Board (CSB) is a sub-committee of the National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada), a registered Canadian not-for-profit corporation. The CSB draws on the expertise of lawyers, accountants, entrepreneurs, regulators, anti-fraud investigators, bankers, payment processors and investors to create crowdfunding standards for portals and issuers raising capital from the crowd.
The Crowdfunding Standards Board is led by CSB committee chair and NCFA Legal Advisor John Wires, and Craig Asano, Founder and Executive Director of NCFA Canada. With the staggering growth of the crowdfunding industry and recent developments in equity crowdfunding, there is a growing need for risk reduction, due diligence, and perhaps most importantly, transparency.
"We are working to develop standards and best practices for the Canadian crowdfunding industry. The NCFA wants to ensure that industry participants have the proper guidance to promote transparency for investors and backers. The standards and guidelines will further the NCFA's mandate to promote a healthy crowdfunding framework in Canada." -- John Wires
John Wires, Founder of Wires Law, NCFA Startup Legal Advisor
John Wires is the Founder of Wires Law, a corporate commercial law firm delivering legal services to entrepreneurs and small and medium sized businesses across Canada. His practice focuses on launching, protecting and selling Canadian businesses. He has appeared in the Ontario Superior Court, the Ontario Court of Appeal and private arbitrations on issues spanning from shareholder and employment disputes to cross border litigation.
John graduated from law school with first class honours specializing in both International Trade and Corporate Commercial Law. He was called to the Bar of the Law Society of Upper Canada in 2011 and is a member of the Canadian Bar Association. He has been a guest lecturer at Ryerson University and covered in the media on Crowdfunding in Canada.
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The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a cross-Canada crowdfunding hub providing education, advocacy and networking opportunities in the rapidly evolving crowdfunding industry. NCFA Canada is a community-based, membership-driven entity that was formed at the grass roots level to fill a national need in the market place. Join our growing network of industry stakeholders, fundraisers and investors. Increase your organization’s profile and gain access to a dynamic group of industry front runners. Learn more About Us|About Crowdfunding or contact us at casano@ncfacanada.org.
Source: NCFA Canada
For more information please contact:
Media Contact
Craig Asano
NCFA Canada
Executive Director
p. (416) 618-0254
e. casano@ncfacanada.org
The “Impossible” Projection Watch Hits $1.4 Million In Crowdfunding
TechCrunch by John Biggs | October 2, 2014
In what I suspect will result in a refrain of “I told you so” from multiple parties, the crowdfunding for the Ritot projection watch – a watch that projects the time and other data on your wrist using a low-throw projector – has closed.
The project raised $1.4 million on Indiegogo after extensive chatter about nonexistent prototypes and problematic founder information (“It was public knowledge that the founder’s names, locations, and update promises kept changing, yet some shrugged it off.”)
Related: In Crowdfunding, Who is Responsible for Preventing Fraud?
Can this watch actually be made? First we must remember that there is no working prototype, a huge red flag. The bill of materials on the entire project looks far too expensive for the $199 early bird price although we’re not completely privy to the company’s plans. However, it looks like enough potential fools and their money have been parted, at least at this juncture, to make the product a reality. To add to the confusion, the project managers changed their location from the Ukraine to the US, citing image concerns. Indiegogo, for their part, does due diligence on campaigns like these but is not in the position to pull the plug except in cases of absolute fraud.
As we’ve noted before a crowdfunding campaign is a gamble. It’s a gamble for the backers and it’s also a gamble for the creators who, arguably, have far less to lose if a campaign fails. It’s also a gamble for crowdfunding companies: when a big campaign is considered fraudulent, the backers blame Indiegogo and Kickstarter for doing exactly what they’re supposed to do. It’s like a gambler blaming the house for losing.
See Also: Crowdfunding Fraud Alerts
However, campaigns like this one are no good for anyone. While I could imagine someone with more resources making a timepiece like this a group of designers from the Ukraine may have issues completing the project. I suppose only time will tell. Whether or not this product is another gust of hot air is anyone’s guess, but not many are optimistic:
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The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a cross-Canada crowdfunding hub providing education, advocacy and networking opportunities in the rapidly evolving crowdfunding industry. NCFA Canada is a community-based, membership-driven entity that was formed at the grass roots level to fill a national need in the market place. Join our growing network of industry stakeholders, fundraisers and investors. Learn more About Us | Crowdfunding | Support NCFA.
Kickstarter fraud: Washington files first consumer protection lawsuit involving crowdfunding
GeekWire | Taylor Soper on
If you raise money via Kickstarter and don’t deliver products you promised backers, the government will come after you.
In what is the first consumer protection lawsuit involving crowdfunding, Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson today filed a suit against Ed Nash and his Nashville, Tenn.-based company, Altius Management.
Back in October 2012, Nash raised $25,146 from 810 backers — including at least 31 from Washington — for a playing card game called Asylum designed by a Serbian artist and managed by Nash. The campaign exceeded its funding goal of $15,000, meaning Nash was legally responsible for sending every backer the products they paid for.
But as the estimated delivery date of December 2012 passed, customers never received their Asylum product. In the months following, angry backers voiced their frustration on the ongoing Kickstarter page comment thread.
Ed Nash
“Almost a year and no updates,” one backer wrote. “Ed Nash is in hiding.”
“This IS pathetic,” another said. “Kickstarter dont care at all same as Ed he dont care he has his money.”
According to the lawsuit, both Nash and Altius have not communicated with the backers since July 2013. The Attorney General’s office is seeking restitution for consumers, as much as $2,000 per violation of the Consumer Protection Act in civil penalties, and money to cover the state’s costs and attorneys’ fees.
View: Why Frausters won't sink equity crowdfunding
“Consumers need to be aware that crowdfunding is not without risk,” Ferguson said in a statement. “This lawsuit sends a clear message to people seeking the public’s money: Washington state will not tolerate crowdfunding theft. The Attorney General’s Office will hold those accountable who don’t play by the rules.”
Joe Wallin, an attorney with Seattle-based Davis Wright Tremaine, said he’s not surprised by the Attorney General’s actions.
“If people mislead and defraud people, they can expect the government to take action,” Wallin said.
Kickstarter notes that the company “does not guarantee projects or investigate a creator’s ability to complete their project.” However, its Terms of Use page does note the legal obligation of people to deliver their product if funded. From the FAQ:
Is a creator legally obligated to fulfill the promises of their project?
Yes. Kickstarter’s Terms of Use require creators to fulfill all rewards of their project or refund any backer whose reward they do not or cannot fulfill. (This is what creators see before they launch.) This information can serve as a basis for legal recourse if a creator doesn’t fulfill their promises. We hope that backers will consider using this provision only in cases where they feel that a creator has not made a good faith effort to complete the project and fulfill.
We’ve reached out to Kickstarter for further comments.
The Altius Management website is blank, though some subpages are still online. The company’s LinkedIn page describes it as a “full-service entertainment and artist management firm.” Nash, meanwhile, is still listed as the president of the company on his LinkedIn.
It doesn’t appear that Nash is “hiding,” as one Kickstarter backer noted. His Facebook and Instagram accounts have been active.
Nash describes himself as an “experienced veteran of the music industry,” on his About.Me page.
“Now in his early 30’s, Ed is clearly outperforming his peers — as President of Altius Management, Ed represents a select roster of clients, now only in music, but in film, television, and comedy,” the page notes.
